Disclaimer: Do not own.
He crept down the halls, eyes wide, body alert. His footsteps were silent, his breath even more so. He paused for a moment, looking around the corridor. Apparently deciding which way to go, he moved with renewed vigor in a new direction, an eager glint in his obsidian eyes. He moved as fast as he could, suppressing his chakra so as to not be detected. If he was, then all his hard work, months of training and planning and just plain preparing. It would all be for naught. He glanced around nervously once more, before slowing down to a crawl, approaching his target.
Uchiha Sasuke had infiltrated Akatsuki.
His target, of course, was his brother. Uchiha Itachi, S-Ranked missing nin from Konohakagure , Akatsuki member, weilder of the Mangekyou Sharingan, the clan genius. The clan murderer. As Sasuke crept closer to the room where he sensed his brother's chakra signature, with the sole intention of finally killing his only living family, he smiled. True, it was a horrifying, maniacal smile. But it was a smile, nonetheless.
He pushed the door open and was met with instant darkness. Of course. His brother was asleep, having just gotten back from an exhausting mission only an hour ago. The younger Uchiha moved forward, Kusanagi (1) held out in front of him. He had lived his whole life for this moment. He had become the best rookie, completed every mission, deflected from Konoha, spent three years with that snake, all for this one moment. His entire life's worth was hanging in the balance, and he could see his brother's still form in front of him, hear his even breathing. It wouldn't matter that he'd be killed soon after killing Itachi, as long as he completed the deed. With a feral snarl, he raised the sword above his head, and drove it into the prone form beneath him.
"Tsk."
A kunai was at his throat. Shit, when did that happen? …How? Sasuke averted his eyes, peering through the darkness to see the softness that his sword had hit. A pillow. Of course. It was never that easy, was it? And now, here he was, his best weapon covered in down feathers, a kunai threatening to cut his jugular, and the wisps of someone else's breath tickling the back of his neck.
"Little brother…did you really think that you would be able to sneak up on me? For one moment, did you truly believe that it would be that simple?" Itachi asked, mimicking Sasuke's thoughts of just a moment before.
Sasuke looked at the knife held to his neck, not answering. The blade was so close, he knew that the slightest movement on his part would end it. The thought was tempting, actually, when compared to his brother's genjutsu. Alas, he wouldn't make it that easy for his brother. Not if he could help it. He moved his hands, forming signs at a rate no average eye could keep up with. In less than a second, during which Itachi hadn't so much as blinked, a wave of Chidori shot through Sasuke's body, shocking his brother. The elder recovered so quick, it was like he hadn't ever faltered. It was enough.
As soon as the kunai had moved a centimeter away from his neck, Sasuke shot his head back and down, rolling out of his brother's grasp. Itachi, however, didn't seem fazed in the slightest. "So…you've improved. Let us see if you've changed enough to defeat me."
Itachi darted forward, aiming a kick at Sasuke's mid-stomach. His opponent, eyes now fully developed, dodged out of the way and aimed a punch at his brother's head. The blow was caught in a manicured hand, with a perfectly smooth face gazing out from behind it. The Akatsuki member raised his knee, directed for his sibling's chin. This, too, was stopped. Thus, the battle began.
It continued on for five minutes, each opponent landing only a handful of blows, the rest of which were either avoided or stopped. Just as it seemed neither would triumph, Sasuke felt himself beginning to tire.
Shit.
Of course he couldn't match his brother's stamina. His brother, the natural genius, pride of Konoha's most powerful clan. His brother, whose mere presence could scare the most battle-hardened shinobi into tears. His brother, the man he had trusted and looked up to for the first seven years of life.
Itachi took advantage of his brother's weariness, and, in a move similar to one enacted in a hotel corridor years ago, pinned Sasuke to the wall. He lowered his face towards the avengers, lips parted to mock him, humiliate him. He had just opened his mouth to spout out how Sasuke's hatred still wasn't strong enough, when the door burst open.
"Hey, Itachi. Our prick of a leader came told me to come down and see what all the noi – HOLY SHIT!"
The eyes of both Uchiha prodigies darted to the doorway, where a silver-haired man was standing, clad in only a pair of black pants, with a rosary around his neck and an expression of horror on his face. Hidan looked at Itachi, then to Sasuke, and back to Itachi. "What the fuck, Itachi?!?! Isn't that your brother?!?!"
Itachi, slightly miffed that he had been interrupted right before his big speech about his brother's flaws, only gave a curt nod to signify that Hidan was correct.
The pious man continued to look back and forth between the two with that same dumbfounded expression. His mouth opened and closed, apparently trying to form words. Just as the two brothers were getting ready to go back to their little ritual, Hidan found his voice.
"Oh, both of you are so going to hell! Jashin-sama fucking hates heathens, but incest is so much worse, seriously!"
(1)Kusanagi – The sword Sasuke has post- timeskip. Orochimaru has one, too.